Dark (Heaven) and Yellow (Earth)
By the late 1990s Wang began to untether his compositions from any text, creating a series of monumental abstractions that may be appreciated as gestural art. His powerful brushwork, executed with a mop-size brush (thus engaging his entire body), calls to mind Action Painting. But Wang’s emphasis on balancing spontaneous, energized strokes with the surrounding white space is equally informed by years of calligraphic practice, particularly of cursive script. The title echoes the work’s grand scale in its reference to the colors of the sky and the earth at the beginning of creation, as described in the ancient Book of Changes (Yi Jing).
Artwork Details
- Title: Dark (Heaven) and Yellow (Earth)
- Artist: Wang Dongling (Chinese, born 1945)
- Date: 2005
- Culture: China
- Medium: Horizontal scroll; ink on paper
- Dimensions: Image: 57 1/4 in. × 12 ft. 1/4 in. (145.4 × 366.4 cm)
Overall with mounting: 66 in. × 13 ft. 1 5/8 in. (167.6 × 400.4 cm) - Classification: Calligraphy
- Credit Line: Gift of the artist, 2013
- Object Number: 2013.188.3
- Rights and Reproduction: © Wang Dongling
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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